GBGoodies 2015 Movie Logbook

Hey GB, sorry to interrupt your thread with some off the wall trivia - but your mention of Judy Holliday reminded me of another movie with her & Dean Martin called Bells Are Ringing .
It takes place in NYC & has a musical number all about saying Hello to people. As the two stars are singing (and saying Hello), a man in the crowd behind them responds with a Hello.

That man was bit actor Len Lesser. He played "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld who's catch phrase was always an enthusiastic "HELLO!"

It just cracked me up to see a much younger Uncle Leo suddenly turn up on the streets of New York City in this 1960 musical saying "HELLO!" long before doing the same thing on Seinfeld!

The Big Heat (1953)

This is a good movie, but it didn't draw me in the way that I thought it would. It's violent and brutal, but most of the violence and brutality is left off-screen, so it doesn't distract from the story while still remaining powerful.

If you like Film Noir, this movie is definitely worth watching.

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You're welcome to interrupt my thread whenever you'd like.

I'm not a "Seinfeld" fan, but I wonder if that was some kind of a trademark for him, or just a coincidence. Do you know if he ever did that in any other movies?

I've wondered that myself, but could never find any info on it. Did they make that Uncle Leo's catch phrase because of that movie or was it already written for the character? Maybe only Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld know. (Len Lesser, sadly passed in 2011).

More trivia: Bells Are Ringing was Judy Holliday's last film, while it was Hal Linden's movie debut.

Three for the Show (1955)

This movie is basically the flipped version of the Cary Grant classic My Favorite Wife, but it's nowhere near as good. Parts of the movie are kind of corny, and it's pretty predictable if you're paying attention, but overall it's an enjoyable movie with some great classic songs.

While all the actors are good, there seems to be more chemistry between Vernon and Gwen, (Gower and Marge Champion), than there is between Marty and Julie, (Betty Grable and Jack Lemmon).

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Sadly, Judy Holliday died young and she just didn't make enough movies.

A lot of people only know Hal Linden as TV's "Barney Miller", but I wish that he made some musicals. I've heard him sing, and he has a great voice. He sang in Bells Are Ringing, but I would have liked to see him have a starring role in a musical and really show off his talent.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

This is a pretty good movie about two men who plan to use circumstantial evidence to try to get one of them convicted of committing a murder to show the flaws in the legal system and the death penalty. It's an interesting concept, but the movie is kind of predictable. There are several plot twists that you can see coming a mile away.

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Tight Spot (1955)

When romance meets Film Noir, you get this movie. This is a tense movie with a predictable ending, but overall it's a good movie.

My first thought when I saw the cast list was that this is a strange cast for a Noir film, (Ginger Rogers and Brian Keith), but they both are great in this movie, so somehow it works anyway.

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Winchester '73 (1950)

This is a good movie, but it's not great. It's an interesting story with a predictable ending, but it also had a nice twist at the end.

It has a good cast, but Jimmy Stewart seems wasted in the lead role. However, watch for a young Rock Hudson, who is almost unrecognizable as the Indian Chief Young Bull, and also watch for a very young Tony Curtis as a Calvary soldier.

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Bogus (1996)

This is a charming movie that is fun and magical. It will make you wish that you still had your childhood imaginary friend.

Haley Joel Osment is adorable as a young orphaned boy with a big imaginary friend named Bogus, (Gérard Depardieu). He is taken in by his deceased mother's adopted sister Harriet (Whoopi Goldberg) who can't see or hear Bogus, so she tries to get rid of him, but it's not as easy as it seems.

This is a very underrated movie with some great performances.

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Father of the Bride (1950)

This is a good rom-com, but it's a bit unusual because the romance takes a back seat to the father of the bride. This is his story about his fears and problems with her wedding.

Is it realistic? I guess you'd have to ask someone who has been in his situation, but this is a very enjoyable movie. It's not filled with a lot of "laugh-out-loud" moments, but it makes you smile and chuckle throughout the movie.

Spencer Tracy is great as the father of the bride, and his narration throughout the movie is terrific.

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Father's Little Dividend (1951)

In this sequel to Father of the Bride (1950), it's a year later, and there's a baby on the way creating new headaches for everyone, especially Spencer Tracy's character.

This movie is good, but it's not as good as the first movie. Lots of smiles, but not as many laughs. Some parts of this movie have more of a "downer" feeling than the first movie, but overall it's a pretty light-hearted and fun movie.

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The Tall Target (1951)

This is a great suspense thriller based on an actual assassination plot to kill Abraham Lincoln on his way to his inauguration. It has lots of unexpected twists and a great ending.

In a strange coincidence, the ex-police officer trying to protect Lincoln is named John Kennedy.

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Fire Down Below (1957)

This is a pretty good movie, but it's kind of uneven. It starts out as a love triangle between Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, and Jack Lemmon, but it never really goes deep enough into either of the romances. It goes more into the romance between Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth than it does with Robert Mitchum and Rita Hayworth, but it still leaves way too much off-screen for us to really care enough about the characters to care who ends up together.

Then about halfway into the movie, it changes from a romantic adventure to a drama, but by this time, we're fully focused on Jack Lemmon's character, and Robert Mitchum and Rita Hayworth are barely seen.

It just feels like a good story with some big holes in it.

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The End of the Affair (1955)

This is a pretty good movie, but it's a bit too much on the religious side for me. It starts out as a nice romance, but then it's just sadness and guilt through the rest of the movie. For two people who were going through so much pain, it should have been easy to feel what they were going through, but I just didn't feel it enough to really care if they got back together.

I usually like Van Johnson, but I think he was miscast in this movie. I just didn't feel the chemistry between him and Deborah Kerr as much as I should have. Even though his role was much smaller, I felt more sympathy for Peter Cushing's character when he poured his heart out to his wife.

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Cowboy (1958)

In a weird way, this movie kind of reminded me of a dramatic version of the Billy Crystal movie City Slickers. Basically, a city boy wants to be a cowboy, but he soon finds out that it's harder than he expected.

Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon are terrific in this movie. Both of their characters are two very different people at the start of the movie, and it's interesting to see how the two of them working together makes them change over the course of the movie.

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The Steel Trap (1952)

This is a great crime thriller about a bank manager who tries to steal money from the bank on Friday, and get away to Brazil before anyone notices the money is missing on Monday morning.

Joseph Cotton is terrific as the bank manger. He makes us feel the tension as things go wrong one-by-one.

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Calamity Jane (1953)

This movie was Warner Brothers response to Annie Get Your Gun. It's not quite as good, but it's another great musical.

Doris Day as a rough and tough western hero? It sounds crazy, but it works. She's terrific in this wonderful musical.

The movie also has some very catchy tunes including "The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away)", "I Can Do Without You", "Just Blew in from the Windy City", "A Woman's Touch", and of course, "Secret Love".

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The Happy Time (1952)

I knew nothing about this movie before watching it except that it starred Charles Boyer and Louis Jourdan, but that was enough for me to give it a chance. I love both of them, especially their accents.

This movie is funny and charming. It's a great coming of age movie that was probably ahead of its time when it was released.

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White Nights (1985)

This is a terrific movie about a soviet dancer who defected, but ends up back in Russia after his plane crashes there. It's a great story with some very emotional scenes, and a lot of tension.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines are both amazing dancers, and they both get to show off their talents in this movie.

It has a great soundtrack too, including "Say You, Say Me" sung by Lionel Richie, and "Separate Lives" sung by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin.

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